After an appetizer of the Walker Cup and Solheim Cup in the preceding weeks, golf fans have one more team event to look forward to: the Presidents Cup. And although the biennial team event has been lopsided throughout its history, it still offers plenty of intrigue.
This year, the U.S. Team is led by Brandt Snedeker against an International side led by Geoff Ogilvy as the two teams square off at Medinah Country Club outside Chicago.
There are plenty of new faces that will make their team-golf debuts when they suit up for their respective sides, but one who is not new to the pressures of the Presidents Cup is Christiaan Bezuidenhout, who is making his third appearacne for the Internationals. Ahead of his return Presidents Cup appearance, the South African chatted with Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz of GOLF’s Subpar to share the inside scoop on all things Presidents Cup.
One of the most dissected elements of team competitions is the pairings in each session. Win or lose, there is sure to be some second-guessing on who plays with who.
During his appearance on Subpar, Bezuidenhout shared his insight into how those pairings are made. And, according to him, it all boils down to advanced analytics.
“The captains and vice captains have gone through it with our stats team and they come up with a lot of combinations,” he said. “I just trust the stats guy and captains to pick that right and I’ll just go out there and do my best.”
If the International team hopes to break their losing streak — one that dates back to 1998 — it will take nearly perfect pairings and play. However, as sports fans see time and time again, anything can happen when competition eventually begins.
